


Caricature

by 4wholecats



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Genre: Angst, Gen, Happy Memories, Near Death Experiences, Siblings, Wyverns, a lot of this is based off descriptions on the wiki, first fic ever lol, i haven't finished shadow dragon or played mystery of the emblem so don't take my word as gospel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 15:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11107227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4wholecats/pseuds/4wholecats
Summary: Maria couldn’t help but reminisce bitterly about her memories at the barracks, and how the yelling had been happy, and the silence had been protective.What a shame to stain it with something as ugly as blood.





	Caricature

Looking back, Maria would have categorized this moment as nothing more than a caricature of a memory from her youth. It was one of her first clear memories, and one she held most dear. 

Minerva had been recently been given the okay from their father to become a full fledged wyvern rider, and the older princess was more excited than she had ever been. She would be picking out a mount soon, and getting her own suit of armor, which was a big deal, especially for a member of the royal family. 

Naturally, Minerva, being the headstrong pre-teen that she was, couldn’t be bothered to wait for these things. She wanted to start flying immediately, and she went to the first person she thought of when looking for a quick ticket to the sky. Michalis, who was already several years into his training as a wyvern knight, had said no, of course. There was absolutely no way he would “lend” his mount to an untrained rookie, even if that rookie was his sister. 

Maria remembered them going back and forth for days, and each day Michalis came a little closer to slipping. Finally, a full week later, he begrudgingly agreed to Minerva’s request, on the condition that he would ride with her in the saddle, just incase anything went wrong. Maria, who was barely six, and who stood about as tall as one of Michalis’ legs, took her brother’s moment of familial weakness and ran with it, loudly proclaiming that she wanted to go too. Minerva looked like she wanted to say no, but remained silent, and Michalis just looked tired. Maria then promptly ran away before they could say anything, taking their silence as a yes. 

The next day, Minerva climbed onto the mighty wyvern, almost-but-not-quite listening to the crash course Michalis and some of the other soldiers in the barracks were attempting to give her. Michalis was holding onto her tightly, even though they hadn’t yet left the ground, clearly regretting his decision. He jumped a little when he felt a small pair of arms wrapped around his midsection, and looked over his shoulder to see little Maria smiling up at him with the innocent, gap-toothed grin of a child who doesn’t really know what’s going on, but wants to be a part of things regardless. Michalis sighed and waved over a soldier, who brought over a child-sized harness. Minerva would be easy to grab in the event of an accident, but if Maria fell off, he wouldn’t be able to turn around in time, and he had no intention of letting his kid-sister tumble off the back of a moving wyvern.

As soon as the harness was secure, Minerva wasted no time in getting them off the ground. Her control of the wyvern was shaky at best, and the turbulence made Michalis’ stomach turn slightly, but they didn’t hit any of the castle’s terraces and soon they were soaring above the courtyard. Minerva was yelling in triumph, having coaxed their mount into circling high above the castle, it’s wings beating almost lazily. Maria was giggling, clearly unaffected by both the extreme distance between herself and the ground, and the fact that Michalis’ long hair kept getting in her mouth. She had never been happier in her entire life, and she probably would never be again. She thrived of the positive emotions of her siblings, both her sister’s confident whooping and her brother’s hand over both of hers, holding her firmly onto the saddle. 

Now, so many years later, she felt as if she was being mocked. 

Michalis and Minerva dove through the skies, each trying to unseat the other, the fate of all of Macedon caught between their clanging weapons. The sounds of battle rang around her and the three pegasus sisters galloped and flew around her, not letting a single enemy touch the young princess. Maria dashed across the battlefield, chanting out healing spells, not letting her fatigue get the best of her despite how desperately her body wanted to collapse. All the while, she kept one eye on the sky.

And then, it was all over. Maria could barely make out Minerva’s heavy axe cleaving through Michalis’ shoulder. Then, he was on a fast track to the ground below as he lost control of his mighty wyvern. She didn't hear the thud of flesh hitting dirt, but she saw him crumple like one of the training dummies he had decimated in his youth. Before she knew it, she was tearing across the battlefield, pursued by the ever-faithful whitewings. Michalis’ army was fractured, their leader presumed dead, so no one attempted to block her path as she hurtled towards her destination.

She hit the ground so hard that her knees immediately became wet with blood. She turned over her brother’s body carefully but quickly, removing his cape to get a better look at his wounds. Clearly, most of the damage had been caused by his fall, but the gash in his shoulder was certainly nothing to sneeze at. But she wouldn’t worry about that first. Barely feeling out a pulse, she moved her now-bloody hands through the motions, chanting out every healing spell she knew, even the ones she had learned from Valentian tomes, which further drained her energy. 

She barely felt the heavy thud of a wyvern landing heavily behind her. Then there were strong arms pulling her back away from the carnage, away from her brother who was quickly bleeding out in front of her. Maria screeched louder than she had ever screeched in her life, clawing at the person behind her, summoning some strength she even she didn’t know she had. The arms, which belonged to her sister, released her and Maria hurtled herself back into her work. The ugly gash wasn’t bleeding as much, and the broken bones were, for the most part, mended. 

Maria’s tired vision was starting to cloud with red exhaustion. Her brain processed that someone was talking to her, more calm than before. She looked over to Minerva, who was kneeling next to the two of them. She also had a nasty cut on her head, and some of her hair looked as if it had been burned off with potent fire magic. Hazily, she saw Minerva stand up and move to her other side to support Michalis’ head. Then, with a grunt of effort, the older princess hoisted her brother up over her shoulders, motioning for Maria to follow. 

Maria stumbled to her feet, standing taking more effort than she was use to. She climbed up onto Minerva’s draconic mount with difficulty, further agitating her bloody knees as she situated herself and hooked up the emergency harness to her minimal armor. Then, Minerva handed off Michalis as she also climbed into the saddle. 

Maria draped Michalis’ legs over one side of the wyvern, pressing the front of his body into her chest as she held onto him like a lifeline. His head fell over her shoulder, and she ran her fingers through his bloody hair in an effort to comfort him and calm herself. She didn’t really know if he was conscious at this point; she was barely so, but she mumbled things in his ear that were clearly meant to reassure both of them that everything would be okay. 

Minerva prompted her wyvern to lift off and soon the three of them were moving, soaring at top speed back to the castle, where all three of them would get the well-deserved medical attention that they so desperately needed. 

On the ride back, Maria couldn’t help but reminisce bitterly about her memories at the barracks, and how the yelling had been happy, and the silence had been protective. 

What a shame to stain it with something as ugly as blood.

**Author's Note:**

> I put my playthrough of Shadow Dragon on hold because Echoes came out but Heroes motivated to pick the game back up lol
> 
> I forgot to pick up Michalis in the last grand hero battle but I do have Maria and Minerva :D


End file.
